7:30 a.m.

      Registration and Coffee

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.

      Welcoming Remarks

      Tsehaye Teferra, President, ECDC

9:00 - 9:45 a.m.

     Keynote Address

      Eskinder Negash, Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services

9:45 - 10:00 a.m.

      Break

10:00 - 11:15 a.m.

      African Refugees 60 Years after the Refugee Convention: The State of Affairs

      Kathleen Newland, Director, Migration Policy Institute, Moderator
      Vincent Cochetel, Regional Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
      Professor Susan Martin, Ph.D, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration,
      Georgertown University
      Eleanor Acer, Director, Refugee Protection Program, Human Rights First

11:15 - 12:30 a.m.

      Concurrent Sessions

A.  New Refugee Groups from Africa Spotlight on Darfuri Refugees

      Sanja Bebic, Director, Cultural Orientation Resource Center
      Sarah Krause, Cutltural Orientation Coordinator, OPE ,Nairobi
      Anne-Marie McGranaghan, Associate Resettlement Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

B.  “I Used to be a Big Boss:” Helping Refugee Job Seekers Adjust to the American Workforce

      Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Director of Outreach and Program Evaluation, Welcoming Center for New
      Pennsylvanians
      Yana Chernov, Director of Employment Placement, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians

C.  Communication for Integration

      Burna L. Dunn, Director, Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning

12:45 - 2:00 p.m.

     Lunch

2:15 - 3:45 p.m.

      Admission to the US: Updates by Federal Partners

      Larry Yungk, Senior Resettlement Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
      Larry Bartlett, Acting Director, Office of Admissions, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration,       Department of State
      Barbara Strack, Chief, Refugee Affairs Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

3:45 - 4:00 p.m.

      Break

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

      Refugees in Africa: Historical Precedents, Current Perspectives   

      Heran Sereke-Brhan, Research and Development Associate, ECDC, Moderator
      Sulaymann Nyang, Department of African Studies, Howard University
      Abdul Bangura, Department of Political Sience, Howard Univesity
      Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa
      Ambassador Girma Birru, Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

5:30 - 6:15 p.m.

      Capitol Hill Preparation Meeting

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.

      Film "Come un uomo sulla terra (Like a Man on Earth) - 2008: 60 mins."
      A documentary by: Riccardo Biadene, Andrea Segre, Dagmawi Yimer
      (Italian and Amharic with English subtitles)
       Synopsis: Filmed in 2008 the documentary features the voice of Ethiopian Refugees living in Rome,
       and provides us with direct insight into the ways that Libya, aided by Italian and European funds,
       seeks to restrict and control the movement of people from Africa.

8:00 a.m.

      Registration and Coffee

8:30 - 9:15 a.m.

      CurrentState of African Refugees

      Reuben E. Brigety, II, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration,
      Department of State

9:15 - 10:00 a.m.

      Forced Migration in Africa and Beyond: Causes and Remedies

      Andrew Schoenholtz, Co-director, Center for Applied Legal Studies, Georgetown University
       Law Center

10:00 - 10:15 a.m.

      Break

10:15 - 11:30 a.m.

      Serving Refugees in the United States: Program and Updates from the Office of Refugee Resettlement

      Ken Tota, Deputy Director, Moderator
      Pamela Green-Smith, Division Director, Division of Community Resettlement
      Ron Munia, Division Director, Division of Community Resettlement
      Henley Portner, Acting Division Director, Office of Budget, Policy Planning, and Analysis

11:30 - 12:45 a.m

      Concurrent Sessions

A.  Sustaining Ethnic Community-Based Organizations

      Anne Goforth, Program Officer, International Rescue Committee
      Kit Taintor, Excutive Director, Colorado African Organization
      Gatluak Ter Thach, Executive Director, Nashville International Center for Empowerment
      Koul Awan, Southern Sudanese refugee

B.  Role of NGOs in Enhancing Overseas Identification and Referral of Refugees for Resettlement

      Marty Anderson, Operations Manager, Mapendo International
      Mark Hetfield, Senior Vice President for Policy and Programs, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
      Vicky Knight, Deputy Director of Programs, Church World Service's Immigration and Refugee Program

C.  Telling Your Story: Reframing Challenges

      Jennifer Ralston, Project Coordinator, Nationalities Service Center
      Patrick Hakizimana, Nationalities Service Center

12:45 - 2:00 p.m.

     Lunch

     Lavinia Limón, President, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

2:30 - 5:00 p.m.

     Capitol Hill Visits

6:30 - 11:00 p.m.

     Banquet

8:00 a.m.

      Registration and Coffee

8:30 - 10:15 a.m.

      Partnering with Federal Agencies: Resources and Collaboration

      Tessie Ajala, Project Coordinator, ECDC, Moderator
      Rebecca Monroe, Acting Director, Community Relations Services, Department of Jestice
      Geoff Will, Acting Supervisory Special Agent, Washington Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation
      Courtney Winship, Community Relations Officer, Office of Public Engagement, U.S. Citizenship and
      Immigration Services
      Mi "Miki" Kim, Senior Advisor/Special Assistant, Office of Community Service, Administration for
      Childern and Families, Department of Health and Human Services

10:15 - 10:30 a.m

      Break

10:30 - 12:00 p.m

      Working Together to Help Refugees Resettle and Integrate

      Gus Avenido, Manger, Refugee Resettlement Office, Minnesota Department of Human Services,
       Moderator
      Dan Kosten, Vice President of U.S. Programs, World Relief
      Gatluak Ter Thach, Excutive Director, Nashville International Center for Empowerment

      Break

12:15 - 1:30 p.m

      Concurrent Sessions

A.  Voices Views: Newcomers Speak

      Paulette Mpouma, African Enterpreneur, Creator of African Memory Game
      Johnson Kamulegeya, Refugee Enterpreneur
      Suad Jama, Program Specialist, Administration for Developmental Disabilities, Office of Program Support

B.  Orientation: Facilitating Adjustment and Integration

      Sanja Bebic, Director, Cultural Orientation Resource Center
      Colleen Mahar-Piersma, Associate Director, Cultural Orientation Resource Center

C.  U.S. Language Education for African Refugees

      Ann Githinji, Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia
      Alexandra Worth, Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia
      Kevin Meadowcroft, Refugee Program Manager, Baltimore City Community College
      Diana Holden, Instructor, Refugee Assistance Program, Baltimore City Community College

1:30 p.m.

      Conference summation and brown bag networking lunch

1:40 p.m.

      Lunch meeting of ethnic-community-based-organization leaders to discuss joint advocacy

2:30 p.m.

      African CBO Meeting with the Director of ORR